By Iana Seales
The high-energy soca vibes that are synonymous with Machel Montano were on full display at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground early yesterday morning as the celebrated Trinidadian artiste wrapped up the Mashramani revelry.
Leave it to Machel and maybe only him, to invigorate the multitude that had earlier tramped down the streets of Georgetown burning not only calories but much of the verve they had in them. It was a crowd largely out-of-steam but hanging on for him to appear.
The hype going in and the pitch “Machel for Mash” might have been excessive, but Machel is the undisputed ‘King of Soca’. He knows how to walk on a stage, wave a rag and trigger something in people, which is what he did early Wednesday morning and the massive crowd went wild. For about five minutes all people did was wave flags and rags and jump around the ground screaming his name; it was seriously entertaining.
The man known for his scintillating soca rhythms and some of the most electrifying hit songs to have emerged from any Caribbean artiste showed up and delivered as expected though it took him until 2 am to take the stage. It was some party as people gyrated and jumped around the ground feeling the vibes.
As customary, Machel was on stage with members of his HD (High Definition) band which includes the infectious Patrice Roberts. Roberts is huge right now riding on the success of major collaborations with Machel and when they are together on stage the dynamism is unparalleled.
They are a soca force and the legion of fans who poured into GCC felt the full impact of it as they belted out hits such as “Tempa Wine”.
The groovy “Tempa Wine” sent the crowd crazy and it was interesting to see varying versions of the ‘wine’ Machel and Patrice were singing about. Women mostly had it covered and things only picked up from there as Machel churned out a string of his hits including “Slow Wine” and “Thiefin”; the latter had an exhilarating effect on the crowd.
For close to an hour Machel, Patrice and members of his band entertained the crowd which lapped up every song, but the biggest soca number of the night was Machel’s recent release, “Bumper to Fender”. It is hard to describe the kind of reaction the song gets from people because an apt description borders on what is in good taste and what is not. But “Bumper to Fender” was the anthem of the concert and it appeared as if Machel knew this.
Prior to Machel taking the stage another Trinidadian act, the Karma Band, got people fired up for the soca king. Karma, led by its versatile and well-liked front man, Ravi B, belted out the band’s chutney hits including “Rum is Meh Lover” and “Akela Hoon Main”. Karma then covered several current and popular dancehall tracks from artistes such as Vegas; the crowd loved every moment.
Local acts X2 which added singer, Malo to their onstage performance managed to evoke some reaction from the crowd. The trio was good together and people warmed up to Malo after his hiatus from the local scene. Singer Jory, who was introduced as the country’s number one dancehall artiste, got his few minutes on stage as did the newly crowned soca monarch, ‘Bonesman’.
President Bharrat Jagdeo also took in some of the soca vibes and he remained for a fair portion of the concert. When Machel left the stage a little after 3 am it was evident that people were burnt out after the crazy soca party he threw. Hits and Jams entertainment promoted the concert.